characters and plots how do characters affect plot? why understand how characters affect plot? tips...

Characters and Plots

How Do Characters Affect Plot?

Why Understand How Characters Affect Plot?

Tips for Understanding Characters

Use the Strategy

Practice the Strategy

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Plot gives us the action of a story;

How do characters affect plot?

Take away the characters, and the plot comes to a standstill.

characters are the ones doing the action.


Change the characters, and the plot changes too.


Try changing the killer shark in the movie Jaws to a friendly dolphin!



Imagine what would have happened . . .

if the character had behaved differently.

To figure out how a character affects a plot, use the If—Then strategy.

Lyn spent an hour that night practicing for the concert—and her first solo.

Lyn decided to skip practice and call Maggie instead. They talked for almost two hours.



If a character seems to be fearless, then

what would have happened if he were frightened?



If you think a character is cautious, then

what would have happened if she were reckless?

[End of Section]


Why understand how characters affect plot?

When you understand how characters affect plot

• you can see what influence a specific character has on the plot

• you see how different elements of a story fit together

• you get some clues about the theme of the story—what the writer wants to say about life or people



Here’s an example.

In a story about two brothers who live in separate foster homes, the boys are faced with a decision:

grow up in separate homes or run away and try to find relatives who will take them in.



If both of the boys are reckless enough to run away,

the plot will involve their attempts to survive on their own.


If one boy is more cautious—or wise—and decides not to run away,


the plot may involve his internal conflict about deciding to stay.


The themes of these two stories would probably be quite different.


Sometimes you have to face a huge challenge to find happiness.

Sometimes happiness is right where you are—if you would only see it.

OR


Understanding how the boys’ character traits affect the plot would help you figure out the story’s theme.


[End of Section]

Two devoted but reckless brothers

One wise and cautious brother—

OR

one bold but reckless brother



Pay close attention to dialogue.

Maya watched her mother fold the same t-shirt three times.

“So when Abuelito Ruiz gets here,” her mother said, “I don’t want you to say anything about the doctor . . . or his heart, okay? We want this visit to be relaxing, right? He needs to get his mind off things.”

Maya sat down on the couch next to her mother’s laundry basket. “But, Mama, Abuelito’s not like that. He doesn’t like secrets.” Or silences, Maya thought.

What does this dialogue tell you about each of the characters?



Watch for descriptions of a character’s thoughts and feelings.

Why does the writer share Maya’s feelings here?

Maya was old enough to know it was pointless to argue with her mother about something like this.

She also understood why her mother wanted to avoid the topic of her grandfather’s health. It was about her mother’s fear—not her grandfather’s.

Still, Maya resented having to keep quiet. Her grandfather was the most open person Maya knew. He would never want her to pretend this wasn’t happening—that her grandfather wasn’t sick again.



Notice how a character acts or reacts.

The next morning Maya awoke to the sound of her grandfather’s booming laughter down in the kitchen. She lay in bed for a moment and listened as his voice filled the house. Then she thought about how quiet it would be if . . .

Maya jumped out of bed, dressed quickly, and headed for the kitchen. Then she stopped, rushed back into her room, and found the necklace her grandfather had given her when she turned seven. She hadn’t worn it in years—though her grandfather often asked about it.

How does Maya react to this situation (her grandfather’s visit)?



Notice how characters react to each other.

When Maya entered the kitchen, her grandfather looked up from the table and grinned at her. Maya thought he looked more tired than usual, but his eyes still sparkled.

“Ha! It’s my Maya-papaya!” he teased.

Maya slipped past her mother and threw her arms around Abuelito, determined not to cry. Her grandfather pulled her arms away and touched the necklace he had given her. “Ah, Maya, you and I must talk today. Let’s go for a walk . . .”

What does her grandfather’s reaction tell you about each of the characters?

[End of Section]


As you read “Girls” from How Angel Peterson Got His Name, stop at each open-book sign and think about what you have just read.

After you read, think about how the story would have been different if the boy or girl had behaved differently.

Stop and

think.

Answer the

question.

[End of Section]

Use the Strategy


Here are some pairs of adjectives to keep in mind as you read any selection. Ask yourself, if the character is [one of these adjectives], then how does the plot change if he or she were [the other adjective] instead?

selfish selfless

greedy giving

brave cowardly

wise foolish

graceful clumsy

daring cautious

polite rude

kind mean

honest dishonest

caring uncaring

Use the Strategy


In “Girls,” Gary Paulsen wants you to feel a young boy’s terror at asking a girl on a date. He doesn’t want you just to know the boy is afraid; he wants you to feel his fear and nervousness. How does Paulsen do this?

Hint: Take a look at the adjectives he chooses to describe the boy’s feelings.


What might have happened in this story if the boy had been more confident? If the girl had been more talkative?

[End of Section]

From each pair of opposites below, choose the adjective that best describes the narrator or Eileen.

shy/bold scared/fearless caring/uncaring

Think about the events in the story. How would these events have changed if either the boy or the girl had shown the opposite characteristic?


The End

characters and plots how do characters affect plot? why understand how characters affect plot? tips...

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